https://www.facebook.com/fox13newsutah/videos/10154053263455586/

Galliher served seven years in the Marines, and multiple tours of duty in Afghanistan. The pair were traveling through Utah, headed home to Washington after attending Marine promotion and retirement ceremonies at Camp Pendleton, when Raider slipped out the door of their motel room.

Heartbroken, the Marine searched throughout the night to no avail. And although he’d walked around the building of the nearby veterinary office next door numerous times, he didn’t think to knock on its door.

Raider hadn’t gotten very far; staffers there had picked him up pretty quickly.

Early the next day, employees at the Midvale office were able to reunite Galliher and his beloved German shepherd. The scene was touching and tearful.

“I got Raider when I felt like I felt like I was in a dark cave and there was no chance of seeing the light again and getting him was like having a little glint of hope,” he told Salt Lake City’s KSTU.

“Having him with me side-by-side makes me more confident, strong, and more like the sergeant in the Marines I once was.”

The post Touching Reunion: Marine Veteran Finds Missing Service Dog appeared first on ILoveDogsAndPuppies.

When service dog Kai went missing from his home last November, owner Alexandra Melnick was distraught.  But after many months of ardent searching and Facebook posting, Kai was found hundreds of miles away, and has finally been sent home to his overjoyed family.

Melnick served a nine-month deployment in Afghanistan and came home with a traumatic brain injury and PTSD.  She got a German shepherd puppy and trained him to be a service dog.

“He helps me with things like PTSD and insomnia, she told ABC 10News in December. “He puts me to sleep. He wakes me up for nightmares.”

Kai was stolen from Melnick’s Vista backyard the day after Thanksgiving.  She set up a Facebook and GoFundMe page to get the word out and have money for a detective and a reward.  She handed out thousands of fliers and drove thousands of miles, looking for him.  Months later, she still hadn’t given up.

“I spend my days searching for him, I spend my nights dreaming about him and having nightmares still and I really hope that we get him home,” Melnick told San Diego 6 in April. “He saved my life, I owe this to him. I want to do anything in my power to get him home.”

In August Kai was found, and a week ago, a happy update was posted by Bring Kai Home:

I want to thank every single one of you for all your constant support and help. I also want to say from the bottom of my heart how sorry I am that I have left you in the dark this past week. I had suspected he may have been stolen but didn’t have any idea who it may have been. So, I had to search for him as if he was running around the wilderness. For all I knew, someone took him and got spooked by the media attention and dumped him. I have been looking for breadcrumbs for months with no luck. I have driven thousands of miles the last 9 months looking.

Last week, I found him searching through social media posts. I flew to Texas the very next day. The people who had him didn’t initially know he was missing, stolen, or that I was looking. When they found out, they didn’t want to give him up. In Texas, they have laws regarding this situation. While the Denton County dispatch, deputies, constables, ACOs and clerks were extremely patient, understanding, and worked on this more than I expected, they wanted to make sure I got him back legally and wouldn’t have any issues down the line. We feared him being moved again before the hearing. Animal Control seized him and has had him for time being. They have a beautiful facility and spoiled him for me while I’ve waited. My San Diego County detective worked hard and fast to get the needed paperwork to them.

Relaxing after a much-needed trip to the salon to be flea-bathed and have his painfully overgrown claws clipped.

This morning the judge ruled that Kai is to come back home to California with me.

There is still an investigation to be done over how he left my home and ended up in Texas. In the meantime, I feel beyond blessed to have my baby boy home. I’m focusing on his health right now. The people who had him allowed him to become flea infested to the point he was going completely bald in many places with open sores. He has some trust issues. I believe, the people who had him used heavy negative reinforcement.* He cowers if you move too quickly, has scars that resemble strikes across his body, and his nose has some damage to it.

The Gofundme account is how I was able to find him. Without all your donations, I wouldn’t have been able to spread the word so far and get help from professionals. The remaining money will be divided up between various organizations, ones that helped me find Kai and ones that help others find their missing animals.

This picture is from the shelter last week in Denton County. I will post a video that will help answer questions that you may have. Right now, I’m taking some time to be with someone who I’ve missed very much.

*What she meant is positive punishment.  Negative reinforcement is a misnomer.  What it actually means is subtracting something to reinforce a behavior (i.e. hitting snooze on the alarm – when the noise is taken away, a person will repeat the behavior of shutting the alarm off).  Positive reinforcement is adding something to reinforce a behavior (i.e. giving a dog a treat for learning a trick).

Positive punishment is the addition of something to curb a behavior (i.e. striking a dog – adding pain – to stop it from barking).  Negative punishment is the removal of something to stop a behavior (i.e. taking away a video game because a child misbehaved).

The post Social Media Reunites Marine Veteran with Stolen Service Dog appeared first on ILoveDogsAndPuppies.

Lance Corporal Andrew Harmon has been home from his tour of duty in Afghanistan for a couple of years now.  It’s also been a couple of years since he saw his service mate Rebel, a military dog he spent virtually every moment with while there.  Harmon and Rebel have been reunited, and Harmon says his prayers have been answered.

“I just prayed a lot for the dog. I was like, ‘God, I hope one day I get to see him again’,” said Harmon.

When Harmon joined the Marines, he hadn’t imagined himself as a dog handler.  However, he found out that by getting into a dog handler’s position, he would get to be on active duty.  According to Harmon, when he went to be paired with his new charge, it was Rebel that chose him.

Harmon and Rebel spent every moment together while overseas.  For Harmon, it was his first tour of duty and it was Rebel’s second.  Truly, they are what some would call a bonded pair.

“I’ve had numerous dogs before, but the bond wasn’t like this. You know, I can’t describe it,” said Harmon.

After taking a massive concussive blast from an explosion, Rebel was left badly injured.  He suffered a stroke and had to be retired and sent back to the United States.

While home, a tumor had been found on one of Rebel’s knees and needed to be removed.  The woman Rebel was staying with just could not afford to pay for the surgery.  That’s when she called Harmon and got the pair back together.

“It’s just indescribable,” Harmon said. “It was almost like when I had my daughter or when I got married… something like that. That’s the best way I can describe it.”

Rebel and Harmon are together now.  Rebel is healing up nicely, and the two help each other out coping with post combat stress.  Harmon is now looking for ways that he and Rebel can do some good locally.

The post Answered Prayers for Marine Reunited With Service Dog appeared first on ILoveDogsAndPuppies.

The problem was, Spike was now working with Officer Laura Taylor, and the two had been inseperable for the past two years. As much as she was in love with Spike, Officer Taylor realized that the best thing for Spike and for Heine would be to let Spike go, as painful as it would be.  After three years, Spike and Heine were finally reunited…

The post A Marine And Military Dog Who Haven’t Seen Each Other In Three Years Reunite, And It’s Beautiful! appeared first on ILoveDogsAndPuppies.

Meet Spike, a black Labrador whose job is to sniff out bombs for the Marines. One Marine named Jared Heine worked with Spike in Afghanistan, detecting bombs while clearing routes. But because of traumatic brain injuries, Heine was sent home. After which, Spike ended up working for the Virginia Capitol Police. Heine suffered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and he really misses Spike. So Heine’s mother, searched the internet, looking for Spike. Watch the video below for the full story!
http://youtu.be/lOW831KqJa8
What a sweet reunion! These two have such a strong bond! Not only did they work together, but they became true friends! On March 5, Spike will retire from the police force, and the two will be together once again!

The post Marine Reunited With Dog Who Saved His Life appeared first on ILoveDogsAndPuppies.